System Shock is unapologetically old-school, keeping the core of a nearly thirty-year-old game while mainly focusing on visual and presentation upgrades with a few quality-of-life additions around the edges.
But Microsoft said no.
VGChartz's Paul Broussard: "Ultimately, I come away from my return trip to Citadel Station feeling very whelmed. It’s very clear that this is a remake primarily for people who feel like the original title has aged like a fine wine (barring its older aesthetics). Unfortunately, it’s tough for me to feel that same level of appreciation. I appreciate System Shock for laying the groundwork for future immersive titles, but it definitely feels dated now, and the few changes made in the remake are a mixed bag that don’t do enough to fix its problems, while also adding new ones of their own. If you’re looking for a chance to experience a significant portion of gaming history, or are part of the group that feels the general design of System Shock has aged well, then this is likely worth a serious look. For anyone else, consider waiting for a sale or skipping it altogether."
On-screen weapon stats and skill trees only serve as a barrier between player and playground.
Replies(1)
The problem is so many devs gravitated to handholding the players every step of the way that the idea of actual choice actually scares players nowadays.
If players don't have a little arrow pointing you to an objective they get lost and just quit.
Morrowind was great you needed to read scrolls for directions or talk to npcs .
But then they made their next games geared towards casuals with quest arrows and dumbed down mechanics and they never left
Well they didn't just gravitate towards that randomly. Publishers want more sales and money, especially as the industry has grown and become more demanding. The casual crowd will always outnumber anyone else. So while hardcore gamers and those of us who have been gaming for many years may not agree with some of these design mechanics, it is what it is.
I know I got annoyed out of my mind in an otherwise great game where God of War Ragnarok damn near solves every puzzle for you if you don't do it within 10 seconds, or how some of these open world games ironically steer you in the opposite direction of exploration. But to not understand the why, and go straight to you're 'wrong' if you don't like a certain game type or design choice, is pretty obtuse.
@jz
I still consider Morrowind the best of the series. I actually prefer playing ESO as a single player experience vs the later releases because it's actually a stronger roleplaying experience than offered in games like Oblivion and Morrowind.
When did we start hating on immersive sims though? The industry just moved away from it in favour of fluffing out their linear action/adventure games with shoehorned rpg mechanics.
I never see much hate for the genre. Problem is the commercial viability. For every human revolution or dishonored you have a mankind divided or dishonored 2. Have a game sell like crazy then many more sell under expectations. Even though they are solid and profitable, they just don't often sell enough for the suits. Just hoping System Shock Remake sells enough for a remake 2. As a fan of the genre, it kinda sucks seeing it wax and wane every few years.
Immersive sim is the new buzzword. To even suggest that someone is wrong for not liking a certain type of game completely invalidates your being a real journalist. You belong with the kind of funny guys who wear their fanboyism on their sleeves.
